Amazon
★★★★★
“The first ever roundabout book for children doesn’t disappoint!”
Amazon
★★★★★
“Easy to read and understand book teaching kids, and adults, about roundabouts…how they function, safety, and more.”
Why a
book about roundabouts?
We’re glad you asked.
In 2023, Build The Era, seeing a need for roundabout education in children’s entertainment, published the first-ever children’s book about roundabouts titled Ronda Loves Roundabouts.
Author and BTE Board President, Jonathan French, has combined his engineering knowledge, experience, and joy of writing with the beautiful and colorful illustrations of Liyin Yeo to create what we hope you’ll agree will be just the start of roundabouts education in children’s entertainment.
Now in its second edition this groundbreaking book features BTE’s joyful mascot and roundabout-come-to-life, Ronda Bout, and her pal Bee. Using rhyming, humor, and whimsical illustrations, it teaches users of all ages how to safely navigate a roundabout as a driver, pedestrian, and bicyclist, as well as their benefits.
Join Ronda and Bee to learn all about roundabouts and road user safety and share their joy along the way.
It all started with what if
The spark for Ronda Loves Roundabouts started with a “What if” and has become “what’s possible”.
Ronda in the classrooms
The Butler County (Ohio) Engineer's Office presented a copy of Ronda Loves Roundabouts to each of their 17 primary schools. Additionally, Butler County Traffic Engineer Matthew Loeffler, PE, led readings of the book with students at many of these schools. We thank Matthew for starting these important discussions with kids and teachers.
Ronda in Rockford
The Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle in Rockford, Illinois, were part of their recent Tour De North End. This annual event is a fun neighborhood bicycle fest with exercise, prizes, and good times. This year, Ronda shared important road safety information related to the roundabout in this part of town. We're grateful to this organization for sharing road user education that will make everyone safer. This group works tirelessly to maintain this beautiful roundabout that serves as a memorial to 527 soldiers buried near it. Unfortunately, it has also been the site of numerous crashes due to excessive speed. They are now turning their attention to making the intersection safer.
Ronda in Akron
Christine Jonke, P.E., is the Design Division Manager in the Engineering Bureau of the City of Akron, Ohio. She’s been there 27 years, overseeing a variety of roadway projects “but not near enough of them have been roundabouts.” As she wrote in her GoFundMe fundraising campaign post:
“I love roundabouts! They save lives! They move traffic efficiently! But lots of people have misguided impressions. Those big circles of the past had a lot of flaws. The way we design them now though! Wow! They’re ingenious.”
Her goal was to put 150 copies of Ronda Loves Roundabouts in every Akron elementary school, library, and as many free little libraries as possible. One reason we wrote this book was to dispel the reasons roundabouts are misunderstood, but also to engage young children in a discussion about them and road safety. We believe it is imperative to have road safety discussions with children early in their lives so they can be safer in the built environment throughout their lifetime.
